The next morning, I woke to the songbirds chirping. I felt incredibly refreshed, even though I'd spent most of the night trying my best not to be self-conscious about his body being so close to mine.
Zephyr was nowhere to be found, but Ilianna slept sprawled across the bed next to me. I laughed out loud—how could she sleep in that position? I dropped my head back onto his pillows. It smelled like him.
"...me, little brother. There was no need to be violent."
"Idiot. You scared your wife with that fanatical rant. What is wrong with you?"
I heard Alexander's pouting voice and Zephyr's stern reply. Who would ever guess that my Zephyr was at the very least five years younger? And how old is he, anyway? Who cares!
I carefully lifted Ilianna off me, covered her with a blanket, and went to see my future husband.
Granny and Demelza were in the kitchen with the two men. Zephyr looked up at me, and his annoyed expression vanished. I greeted everyone in general, then walked over and kissed him. It was meant to be a short, sweet peck. Instead, he pulled me onto his lap and kissed me more fiercely.
I can't get enough of this.
But I forced myself to stop him. I couldn't let him turn me into a bumbling idiot this early in the morning. Once again, I felt out of breath. No more, Lylly!
"Morning, my love."
...fine, one more. I pulled him to me and let the people around me disappear for just a second.
"My God, what else did I miss?" Alexander's voice cut through the air, always there to ruin the moment.
Since Zephyr considered him a brother, I had to at least try and get along. With more difficulty than necessary, I got up from his lap and started making tea. I wanted to make him something to eat, but my cooking skills just weren't there yet.
"I see... so no fighting Emet, huh?" Alexander sounded slightly disappointed.
"I know you're against it, but I have a feeling there's plenty of fighting that needs to be done in the future."
"What do you mean, Zephyr?" Granny asked, voicing the same question I had.
My indecision caused me to stand frozen in place—should I sit back on his lap or take the clearly empty seat next to him?
"The king is a fool who keeps initiating wars. Sooner or later, he will lose one. When that happens, we need to be ready," Zephyr said, looking directly at Alexander. "I mean to train the men, with your help, to become a unit capable of defending this village. You see, brother, we don't need to join some pointless cause to become soldiers."
Alexander's smile was genuine, and his eyes lost that manic glow that scared his wife. "Hahaha! Yes, let's do that!" He slapped the table, almost spilling several cups. "With the able-bodied men in the village, we can become a proper force. I'll gather more lads once this sacrifice is behind us."
He looked full of energy. Demelza seemed over the moon; her husband might actually become a decent man with Zephyr's intervention. Granny looked proud to have a male with some brain power in her family.
Hearing his ideas, they sounded simple, yet they could only have come from him. Everyone else in this village was born into subjugation and fear, having accepted their fate.
I decided to take my rightful place in his lap, just as Ilianna obviously woke up and took it from me.
"I'm leaving for training soon. You should rest, Alex," Zephyr said, kissing his daughter and offering his now cooled tea to her. "Spend time with your son. Let Demelza look after you a little. There is plenty of time to train."
He patted Alexander's head and gave Ilianna to me, stealing a kiss as he did so. As usual, she wanted to go with him, but this time, he shut it down.
"Maybe later this afternoon... by the way..."
He came closer so only I could hear. "Do you have something... comfortable to wear? I would like to go down to the river later."
He leaned back, looking hopeful.
"In that case... I'm sure..." I tried to whisper, but the kitchen was small and packed. "I'll find something appropriate."
He kissed Ilianna and left, practically skipping.
Oh, yes. Hehehe. I believe we will.
Ilianna poked my face then and broke my train of thought.
"Sweetheart, you were giggling again. It must have been quite the question he asked," my mother was the first to comment on my tell.
"My little brother has an exquisite mindset..."
Thank Ehlite Alexander is dense. But Mother, Demelza, and Granny knew everything, judging by their expressions.
"He sure does. I'm glad you are not angry at him, Alexander." I simply ignored the women and addressed my small concern from yesterday.
He looked embarrassed for a bit. "He woke me early... talked to me about important things. He was right. I mean, how can I call myself a man if I'm so willing... ugh, anyway." He directed those words mainly to Demelza, who looked at him with interest. "Turns out I needed someone to kick my ass. Literally, hahaha... just like the first time we met."
He seemed to remember that day very fondly, and so did I. I looked at Demelza hugging her husband. I already missed Zephyr. But I had things to do, so let's get to them. Later this afternoon, I'd go pick him up from his training. Tomorrow morning, he'd head up that mountain.
"Let's eat some breakfast, love, huh?" I asked Ilianna.
"...and then train."
"Sure. I can probably learn something from you."
Ilianna had only been training a couple of weeks, but she was very young, and learning was in her nature. She tried her best to learn from Zephyr, and now she could do some pretty impressive kicks.
Another thing he brought to this village that sounded simple: with his training, he turned farmers into men who could kill without weapons. I felt great pride in my heart. He was so young and yet so well-trained that his teachings seemed endless.
Granny left to take the final stock of tomorrow's offering. We had a much better amount than previous years—almost a dozen cows and pigs. The monster would be well fed.
Demelza offered to make breakfast for us while Ilianna played with Alexander and her son. Demelza gave me a look, and I moved closer.
"If you want, I have some nice bathing suits. I can give you one as thanks for the dress," she whispered so only I could hear.
Did she hear Zephyr whispering to me? She just chuckled, seeing my face, which most likely looked like I'd been caught.
"Men are all the same, Lylly, even someone unique as Zephyr. Besides, you are an underrated beauty who got used to hiding her femininity," she said, pointing the wooden spoon at my body to emphasize her words. "So of course, now that you two are official, he wants to see some of it."
I tried but failed to hide my smile. She sounded so logical. After all, even I had some thoughts last night with him wrapped around me.
"I'll take you up on your kind offer, Demelza."